Nine years ago, Cheng Cheng's dream was to take part in The One Thousand Hand Bodhisattva Dance after seeing the China Disabled People's Performing Arts Troupe perform it on TV.

Today, the 21-year-old from Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, has realized her dream.

Now the leader of the dance troupe, Cheng lost her hearing due to use of ototoxic drugs when she was around one year old. She cannot hear or talk, but she expresses herself through her dancing. She started dancing seriously when she was 8, and seven years of dawn-to-dusk practice saw her go from a seat in the audience to a place in the spotlight when she was selected for the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe at an open audition in 2007.